Navigating Workplace Toxicity: Veronica “Niki” Fielding Of A Better Paradigm On Strategies for a Healthier Work Environment
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Become more self-aware and aware of how you impact others. Learning about your own feelings and behaviors is step one. Learning how they impact others is the complement to that. For example, I’m a very friendly person but if I’m not smiling, my face can look more severe than I intend. With feedback on that (I had no idea!) I learned to adjust my facial expressions so what I intend is what is received.
Toxic work environments can have a significant impact on employees’ mental health, productivity, and overall job satisfaction. From poor communication and office politics to bullying and burnout, toxicity in the workplace can manifest in many forms. What are the most effective strategies to address and overcome these challenges? How can organizations and employees work together to create healthier, more supportive work environments? In this interview series, we are talking with leaders, HR professionals, organizational psychologists, business leaders, and experts about “Navigating Workplace Toxicity: Strategies for a Healthier Work Environment.” As a part of this series I had the pleasure of interviewing Veronica “Niki” Fielding.
Niki is a former F500 publishing executive turned digital marketing agency founder and SEO industry pioneer now also focusing on leveraging ABetterParadigm.com as a platform connecting companies that want better cultures with the expert resources that can help them succeed.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Throughout my career I’ve experienced truly inspiring cultures and a few terribly toxic ones too. Like so many people who see things from multiple vantage points, I think we’re at a serious inflection point: we need to talk with each other and seek to understand, not just hear, not just listen. And, no surprise, businesses are floundering along with our societies. A “go forward” to better civility, courtesy, and compassion is needed, and workplaces are a great place to foster those socially positive behaviors.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I’ve had a long career so I’ve got lots of interesting stories. Here’s one germane to the toxicity topic, and I’m not the hero of this story. When I began my career at a F500 company, it was my first experience in a corporate environment, and I found myself without a role model. So I put on a “tough” persona and found it difficult to gel with my colleagues.
One day a technician came to my office to fix my PC. He had observed me over a few weeks and he asked, “Mind if I give you some advice?” I asked him to continue, so he said, “You seem like you’re a good person, but I think perhaps you’re acting like someone you think you’re supposed to be instead of who you are, and you’re really quite harsh.” I had no words, he had nailed it. But he wasn’t done, “If you just lead from who you are, you’re going to be great. Just be yourself and let them get to know you.” And I did. And they did. And I am eternally grateful to him for proactively helping me do better.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I was the assistant to the president of an awesome HR consulting firm. Their program was all about employees leading their performance reviews instead of the managers. They were incredibly progressive, very smart people. One day the president and his partner were having a debate in his office, batting ideas around, very energized. I got so caught up in what they were talking about that I walked in — uninvited — and started giving my opinion! They both froze and just looked at me and then said something like, “Who asked you? Get out of here!” I was mortified. I only felt a little better when I heard them quietly laughing and saying, “Can you believe that one?” They got a chuckle out of my chutzpah, so at least I knew they were instantly over it.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
When I was 16, at my dad’s suggestion, I read, “Chariots of the Gods.” It proposed humans evolved from the DNA experiments conducted by a more advanced race, and this was the first time I’d ever encountered a theory other than “Adam and Eve” or Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Following the author’s hypothesis made me think in entirely new ways, and that opening of my mind was earth shattering. To this day, the thing that gets me most excited is someone proposing a new idea. I love the brilliance of original thought.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
Not a specific quote, but it would be great grounding for more compassionate workplaces if everyone read these two books: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. The first one is focused on raising self awareness and giving yourself a solid moral compass; the other is focused on your impact on others.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s start with a simple definition so that all of us are on the same page. What does workplace toxicity mean?
I think of a toxic workplace as those that are dysfunctional because of behaviors by one or more people hindering the organization’s or department’s ability to operate in a mentally healthy way. It only takes one person behaving badly towards others, unchecked, to disrupt the energy and productivity of the rest of the group.
Can you describe a time when you personally encountered or helped resolve workplace toxicity?
Early in my career at a mid-sized ad agency, there was a new partner in the organization who was verbally abusive to me. At first, I thought I was the only one he was behaving that way towards. By discreetly talking with a few other people, I learned they had either been verbally attacked by him too or had seen him do it to others. Armed with that, I went to the other partners, who listened, quickly researched, and removed the disrespectful partner from the mix.
What were the key signs that the environment was toxic?
People closed up, they were guarded. They didn’t want to call attention to themselves. There was a palpable shift in the vibe, which was normally upbeat, energetic, and fun. As a consequence, workflow was slower, ideas weren’t freely shared because people in general were unsure what his reaction was going to be. He was rude and ill mannered but had managed to be another person when his partners were present. Thankfully the partners addressed the situation quickly before good people left. Once the problem partner was gone, the atmosphere returned to a positive one.
What are some of the most common causes of toxic work environments, and how can leaders recognize these issues before they become pervasive?
At least 5x I’ve found myself in a work environment I would consider toxic over the 40+ years I’ve been in business. I think it always comes down to at least one person treating others badly for a period of time. Anyone can have a bad day. And while it’s never okay to take it out on others, I wouldn’t consider a workplace toxic for an occasional slip. What makes a workplace toxic is consistent bad behavior that is ignored by leadership.
Sometimes the boss IS the problem, often it’s their direct reports who behave disrespectfully to their direct reports or others. And sometimes it’s an employee who is rude to their colleagues or clients and no one steps in to redirect them.
An environment is toxic when it affects people’s desire to work in it, to contribute, to bring their full and engaged selves because of someone or some group of people who make working unpleasant on a regular basis.
What steps can employees take to address workplace toxicity if they feel uncomfortable or unsupported by leadership?
If the problem is the business owner, and that person is awful on a regular basis, there really isn’t much recourse other than to leave, unfortunately. I’ve had to take this route once and it was incredibly challenging to leave when there was so much good about the company except the owner.
But in an organization where a non-owner leader is the issue, employees can plan, execute, and document steps to get allyship from the offending leader’s colleagues. That needs to be managed carefully, of course, but as I’ve learned from experience, a toxic person often affects more than just one other person. Often, others are experiencing similar issues, and everyone is waiting for that one person to stand up and call attention to the issue.
If the HR team in the organization is respected, valued, and empowered to take on a leadership role, it can become a valuable ally. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, as we’ve all encountered HR teams that are undervalued and underutilized as resources for communication and relationship-building.
What role does mental health play in navigating workplace toxicity, and how can both employees and organizations prioritize mental wellness?
We live in incredibly challenging times, and no one realizes how much pressure the person next to them is under. We need to elevate our awareness of ourselves, our impact on others, and the need to change the way we prioritize our overall health to work together to eradicate toxicity in the workplace.
Can you share some strategies or practices that individuals and teams can implement to create a healthier and more productive work environment? Please share your “5 Strategies For A Healthier Work Environment”?
1. Learn to focus on intention in all communications. A great deal of misunderstanding and hard feelings between workers (and people in general) comes from people misinterpreting what was intended. At my company, if someone senses the person they’re talking with misunderstood their intention, we ask, “What is it you heard me say?” This gives them the chance to relate the impact it had. If it was not what was intended, we try again. Likewise, if the person who made the comment doesn’t catch that it didn’t land as expected, the recipient is encouraged to say, “I’m not sure what you intended is what I heard, can we try again?”
2. Become more self-aware and aware of how you impact others. Learning about your own feelings and behaviors is step one. Learning how they impact others is the complement to that. For example, I’m a very friendly person but if I’m not smiling, my face can look more severe than I intend. With feedback on that (I had no idea!) I learned to adjust my facial expressions so what I intend is what is received.
3. Keep the lines of communication open, ask questions, make sure others feel heard and appreciated and expect the same in return. If something is amiss, talk about it, don’t bottle it up.
4. Most organizations can benefit from tapping external, objective resources training to help individuals and organizations function better. On ABetterPardigm.com we have a deep and growing list of all kinds of resources available to companies that want to grow by being more conscious.
5. Encourage directness, not niceness. It’s important to take the time to carefully word communications so that action can be taken. Too often, people resort to being “nice,” which leads to watering down the message and potentially having the recipient miss the point. Clear, direct, kind communication is key.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I’ve already plugged into one! I created ABetterParadigm.com (ABP) to connect anyone in any organization who wants to make it a better place to work — with more profits, better employee and customer retention — to the resources that can help them do that. ABP links to conferences, consultants, educational materials, podcasts, and more to help businesses get better. We also produce original content in a weekly newsletter, Niki’s Notes, podcasts, blog posts, and more. We launched ABP at the end of July 2024 — it’s been well received and growing.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I would love to meet Jessica Valenti to thank her for her tireless work on behalf of women’s health.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Let’s get them to ABetterParadigm.com. Here are two original content pieces that may be of particular value/relevance to your piece on workplace toxicity:
https://abetterparadigm.com/how-we-can-heal-hostile-workplaces/
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Navigating Workplace Toxicity: Veronica “Niki” Fielding Of A Better Paradigm On Strategies for a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.